Bees in the Agri Brigade

As a rather cynical postgraduate student I am of course a fan of Private Eye.

I was interested to see in this week's copy the mention of bees (which are very close to my heart) in the Agri Brigade section, and heartened/ saddened to read PE's take on the neonicotinoid debate.

This article mentions the effects neonicotinoid (i.e. nicotine-related) insecticides are having on bee populations. Several scientific studies are cited which have shown that these chemicals have hugely detrimental effects on bees, e.g. bumble bee nests exposed to neonicotinoids produced 85% fewer queens (and queens are required to begin new colonies).

To my great dismay in 2001 the British Bee Keepers Association  (BBKA) gave permission to Bayer (an agrochemical giant) to use their logo in conjunction with several 'bee-friendly' insecticides, in exchange for around £17,500 each year. Obviously bees are insects, so this label is an oxymoron. (Excellent coverage here).

As someone who is very pro- organic methods, it is easy for people to pigeon-hole me as some sort of hippy, and say that organic methods could never provide the food requirements of the UK. But one aspect that seems to be frequently ignored in this judgement is that a lot of conventional* agriculture is tied up in big companies who obviously have vested commercial interests. Their main interest is not necessarily in helping farmers or feeding the UK.

It is reassuring to see that a magazine such as PE who have no vested commercial interest in this debate, as well as a reputation for 'telling it like it is' are being so scathing of the refusal for action by the NFU or CPA**. I feel this way not purely because I'm a hippy, but because commercial greed is affecting the future of UK wildlife and farming. This is a massively complex issue, which deserves to be considered from more than the simplistic conventional vs. organic standpoint.



* i.e. produced using 'conventional' methods, such as using mineral fertiliser and spraying with insecticide, herbicides (for weed control), fungicides and nematicides.

** National Farmers Union; Crop Protection Association (previously, as mentioned, the British Agrochemicals Association).